Hyderabad: Congress will field strong candidates in Old City

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday said that the Congress party would give a tough contest on all seats of Old City of Hyderabad in next elections and would win at least 2-3 seats.

Speaking to media persons after reviewing arrangements for Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Charminar to participate in the Commemoration Day of Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Yatra on October 20, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress party would field strong candidates from all seats to give a serious contest. He admitted that the Congress never contested the elections seriously in the Old City due to its understanding with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in the past. However, this time the Congress party would adopt ‘contest-to-win’ approach. He claimed that the recently conducted surveys have indicated towards Congress party’s victory from at least 2-3 Assembly constituencies.

Uttam Kumar Reddy slammed MIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for openly supporting TRS and caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao. He asked Owaisi to explain the basis on which MIM was supporting the TRS and seeking Muslim votes for the pink party. “Is MIM supporting KCR, because TRS voted for BJP candidates in the elections of President and Vice President of India, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha? Is MIM in favour of TRS, because KCR always acted an agent of PM Modi and BJP by supporting moves like GST and demonitisation which badly hurt poor Muslims of Old City?” he asked.

The TPCC chief alleged that KCR has cheated the Muslim community on multiple occasions on various issues. He reminded that KCR, while addressing an election meeting on 19th April 2014 in Shadnagar, had promised to implement 12% reservation for Muslims within four months after coming to power. “KCR did not fulfil his promise even after four years and MIM wants Muslims to reward TRS with their votes. KCR had also threatened that he would stall the Parliament, approach the Supreme Court, hold dharna at Jantar Mantar and create tremors if Centre rejects 12% quota. KCR did none of these things and now he even stopped talking about 12% Muslim reservation in his speeches. KCR’s silence is a clear indication that he doesn’t want to displease PM Modi by speaking in Muslim quota issues,” he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated that voting for TRS was like voting for BJP. He said if Muslims of Telangana want to defeat Modi at the Centre, then they should defeat TRS in the State by not voting for the pink party. He alleged that KCR has advanced the Assembly elections only to cheat the Muslim community. “Now he wants to go along with MIM and take Muslim votes. After winning the Assembly elections with the support of Muslims, TRS would partner with BJP for Lok Sabha elections. This is a reality and even MIM knows this,” he said. He also asked people to understand this peculiar combination: MIM is an ally of TRS and TRS is a secret ally of BJP. Therefore, voting for MIM or TRS means voting for BJP, he said.

Giving details of Rahul Gandhi’s visit, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress president would arrive at Hyderabad in a regular flight at 10.55 am and proceed to Charminar to attend Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Yatra Commemoration Day meeting. He will confer the Sadbhavana Award to former Governor Dr. K. Rosaiah and address the meeting. Later, Rahul Gandhi will proceed to Begumpet Airport where he will have lunch with senior Congress leaders and then board a helicopter to reach Bhainsa at 2.30 pm. After the public meeting at Bhainsa, Rahul Gandhi will fly to Kamareddy for another public meeting at 4 pm. He will return to Shamshabad Airport by 5.55 pm. He will meet Congress leaders and other dignitaries at the RGIA from 6 PM to 7 PM. He will return to Delhi in a regular flight at 7.30 pm.